e-LfH's e-Learning Anaesthesia project won gold for 'best online or distance learning project' at the prestigious e-Learning Age awards ceremony in London on Thursday 12 November 2009.
This gives e-LfH its fourth consecutive gold winning year with e-Learning Age! On top of the gold award e-LfH is also proud to have had another of its projects, e-Learning for Adolescent Health, shortlisted in the same category this year.
The judges were 'bowled over' by this initiative, and were impressed by the way 'it has been enthusiastically embraced by both trainees and exceeded its objectives'.
e-Learning Anaesthesia (e-LA) is an interactive online resource supporting training and professional development in the specialty of anaesthesia. e-LA contains knowledge, revision and self-assessment e-learning sessions to support the delivery of the anaesthetic curriculum in an online format. An extensive e-Library and e-CPD area extend its reach to support specialist continuing professional development and revalidation. Self-directed learning is encouraged and users can access the learning resources at a time and place that suits their individual needs.
Developed by the Royal College of Anaesthetists in partnership with DH e-Learning for Healthcare, it is available for free to all anaesthetists practising in the NHS.
Ed Hammond and Andrew McIndoe, Clincal leads for the e-LA project, said:
"We are delighted to have won this award which recognises the efforts, commitment and expertise of our authors, editors and development team who have worked together to produce a learning resource of outstanding quality for anaesthesia and the NHS."
Adding to this Dr Julia Moore, National Director at e-LfH said:
"To have our projects recognised year after year amongst such impressive shortlists is excellent recognition for us and our team. Thank you to everyone involved for making both e-Learning Anaesthesia and e-Learning for Adolescent Health such successful projects."
For more information and details of how to register visit www.e-LA.org.uk.
Self Care Week is a national awareness week, building on the successful launch of ‘Your health, your way’ (a guide to long-term conditions and self care) on the NHS Choices website in November 2008.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the information and resources available to help people, especially those with a long-term condition, take control of their own health and wellbeing. It encourages them to take a more active role in decisions about their care.
One resource available to healthcare professionals is an e-learning project called Supporting Self Care. It has been developed by the Academy of Medical Colleges, the Royal College of Physicians and other healthcare professional bodies, in partnership with e-Learning for Healthcare. The e-learning helps healthcare professionals provide individuals and their families expert support and advice on how best to manage their condition. It offers information on healthy lifestyle choices, skills courses and support networks for people living with long-term conditions.
Supporting Self Care is available on the National Learning Management System, an e-learning platform fully integrated with the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) which offers e-learning free to all NHS employees with a staff record on ESR in England.
For primary care professionals, Supporting Self Care is accessible via e-GP. Please visit www.e-gp.org for details.
More information about self care and the support available can be found at www.nhs.uk/yourhealth or to find out more about the e-learning visit www.e-lfh.org.uk/supportingselfcare.
e-Den, the national e-learning initiative encompassing dentistry's foundation years, was officially launched on 15 October 2009, at a special event at The Royal College of Pathologists, London.
The e-Den project is the first major collaboration between the four dental faculties of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow and the Department of Health, England (DH). It is one of several programmes in different specialties that are being developed as part of the DH's e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) initiative.
The curriculum for e-Den has been written by subject specialists and around 500 e-learning sessions will cover four domains; Clinical, Management and Leadership, Professionalism and Communication.
The launch of e-Den saw over 80 representatives from various dentistry bodies across the country as well as tutors and Deans from each of the four faculties gather together. Amongst the speakers were Dental Care Professional (DCP) Advisory Board Member, Tony Griffin, Chair of Committee of Postgraduate Dental Deans and Directors (COPDEND), Chris Franklin, and e-Den Trainee Representative, Esma Dogramaci. Attendees were also given the opportunity to view some of the sample e-Den sessions.
e-Den Clinical Lead, Paul Brunton said:
"This is an innovative initiative that will help revolutionise dental training in the UK. It is an excellent example of partnership working between the four dental faculties and the Department of Health, and will undoubtedly help lay the foundations of tomorrow's dentistry today."
The e-Den project will be available nationwide and free of charge to all NHS trainees and all relevant staff with an NHS contract in early 2010. e-Den will be a valuable tool for Dental Foundation Training schemes to use as part of supporting postgraduate training for dentistry, by promoting a consistent standard of knowledge, skills and expertise across the country. It will also be used for re-certification and continuous professional development schemes for experienced practitioners.
For more information, or to sign up for news about e-Den visit www.e-lfh.org.uk/dentistry or contact the e-Den team: dentistry.support@e-lfh.org.uk.
Foundation trainees can now benefit from online learning with the Foundation e-Learning Programme.
Developed by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in partnership with e-Learning for Healthcare, the free online resource supports doctors during their two year Foundation training.
All of the material is designed to enhance and blend with the existing teaching within Foundation Schools and links to other relevant e-LfH projects such as Safeguarding Children and Young People and parts of specialty training.
Around 50 sessions of e-learning are currently available, with more being added on a regular basis. Current sessions include:
Each interactive session is mapped to specific competences and takes around 20-30 minutes to complete to fit in with busy work-study lives.
Written by senior clinicians and easy to use, the Foundation e-Learning Programme is an ideal learning tool to help ensure doctors gain practical application of their existing knowledge in a safe manner.
More information on the Foundation e-Learning Programme is available at www.e-foundation.org.uk.
Emergency Medicine e-learning is launchedThe e-learning programme for Emergency Medicine (ENLIGHTENme) was officially launched on Thursday 17 September 2009 at the College of Emergency Medicine's Autumn Conference.
ENLIGHTENme is the College of Emergency Medicine's central strategy for online learning. It has been designed to support existing regional teaching programmes, workplace-based assessment and the CPD needs of Emergency Medicine doctors.
The e-learning has been developed by the College, working with e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH). By 2011 there will be 1,000 sessions available - all mapped to the College curriculum. Every session will be written by an emergency medicine specialist and will help with:
For more information and to register visit www.e-lfh.org.uk/emergencymedicine
For more information about the College's e-learning strategy visit www.enlightenme.org
This new e-learning resource, Safeguarding Children and Young People, is now available and is free to health and social care professionals.
Developed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) in partnership with e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH), the e-learning will help health and social care professionals to meet the statutory training requirements of Section 11 of the Children Act and ensure they are up to date with the issues surrounding Child Protection.
This timely launch follows the July 2009 Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) review of arrangements within NHS trusts for safeguarding children. The review revealed significant gaps in the uptake and monitoring of training relating to safeguarding children and young people.
The e-learning is available in four easy to use sessions each taking around 20-30 minutes to complete.
A single session that covers the knowledge and competences required for Level 1 Safeguarding. This includes recognition of the four categories of child abuse and the appropriate actions healthcare staff need to take if they are concerned a child is being abused or neglected.
Three sessions that cover the knowledge and competences required for Level 2 Safeguarding. The learning will include recognising child and young person abuse, being able to document cause for concern, knowing who to inform and understanding the next steps in the child and young person protection process.
Julia Moore OBE, National Director at e-LfH said:
"The Safeguarding Children and Young People e-learning will have a significant impact on the current training and education provision and make a positive contribution to the prevention of child abuse, physical, mental and sexual, as well as reducing the prevalence of neglect, as incorporated in the modern child safeguarding agenda."
Safeguarding Children and Young People is available through the National LMS and e-LfH. For more information on the e-learning and details of how to register visit www.e-lfh.org.uk/safeguarding.
e-GP: e-Learning for General Practice – an innovative online learning resource for all GPs, trainee GPs and other Primary Care professionals - was officially launched on Thursday 16 July at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).
Developed by the RCGP and e-Learning for Healthcare, e-GP is a comprehensive, free-to-access programme of short online learning sessions written for general practitioners and structured around the GP curriculum.
The learning within e-GP is delivered through highly interactive e-learning sessions, case based scenarios and ‘virtual consultations’. There is an e-learning module for each of the curriculum statements, and each module typically contains two to four hours of e-learning, divided into a variable number of independent sessions.
Over 100 sessions of e-learning are now available with new content being added on a regular basis. Current sessions range from Being a GP, Adolescent Health and Patient Safety to Genetics in Primary Care and Care of People with Learning Disabilities.
New e-learning on Safeguarding Children and Young People will also be available shortly to support GPs with the issues surrounding Child Protection, as it was formerly known.
Once complete, the entire e-GP resource will consist of about 500 sessions of e-learning covering the whole curriculum.
GP trainees can record each completed e-GP session in their RCGP Associate in Training (AiT) ePortfolio and certified GPs can print off certificates for their appraisal folder.
The e-GP resource can be used in conjunction with other existing GP educational methods, filling in knowledge gaps, supporting assessment and appraisal preparation, and providing access to consistent high quality learning anytime and anywhere.
It differs from other e-learning resources in that it is explicitly written by GPs for GPs and offers an approach to learning based on curriculum outcomes. It is intended to enhance, rather than replace, existing methods of delivering GP education.
General practice trainees were the first group to be given access to e-GP in January this year, followed by a rollout to practising GPs. Over 12,000 GPs and trainees have now signed up to access the e-learning programme.
Professor Steve Field, RCGP Chairman and formerly clinical lead in the production of the GP training curriculum, said: “e-GP is a fantastic resource that will benefit every GP working in the NHS, whatever stage they are in their career. It is an invaluable aid to postgraduate training and promotes lifelong learning which, in turn, will have a positive effect on the care we provide for our patients.”
Julia Moore, National Director for e-Learning for Healthcare said: “As a mode of delivery for educational material, e-learning harnesses technology to support flexible and self-directed learning for today and tomorrow’s medical workforce.”
Dr Ben Riley, e-GP Clinical Lead, said: “GPs often ask me ‘How is e-GP different from other established e-learning resources?’. Well, all the e-learning in e-GP is RCGP approved and written specifically for general practice so is steeped in the context of NHS primary care.
“This is reflected in both the content of the e-learning modules, which feature realistic patient scenarios relevant to primary care, and the design of the resource as a whole; for instance, much of the educational material is delivered in 20-30 minute ‘sessions’, to fit with the busy working lives of GPs and trainees.”
For more information on e-GP visit www.e-GP.org.uk
e-Learning Anaesthesia (e-LA)e-Learning Anaesthesia (e-LA) was formally launched by Dr Judith Hulf CBE, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, at the annual College Tutors’ meeting in London on June 11.
e-LA is a joint initiative between the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH). e-LA is an interactive online resource supporting training and professional development in the speciality of anaesthesia. It is available for free to all anaesthetists practising in the NHS.
e-LA contains knowledge, scenario and self-assessment e-learning sessions to support the delivery of the key concepts that underpin the anaesthetic curriculum and help trainees prepare for the FRCA examination. An extensive e-library and e-CPD area extend e-LA’s reach to support specialist CPD and revalidation. Self-directed learning is encouraged. Users can access the learning resources at a time and place which suits their individual needs.
At the launch, Dr Judith Hulf said, “Technology is set to transform the way doctors access high quality training materials both in and out of the workplace. e-LA is at the forefront of this change and will provide a national e-learning programme to ensure that all anaesthetists continue to be trained to a consistent and high standard and are supported to maintain that standard with continuous learning throughout their professional lives.” Adding to this Dr Julia Moore OBE, National Director at e-LfH said, “As a mode of delivery for educational material, e-learning harnesses technology to support flexible and self-directed learning for today and tomorrow’s medical workforce.”
Dr Moore was then presented with the Humphry Davy medal and Sarah Vine, representing the e-Learning Anaesthesia team and e-LfH, was presented with the Humphry Davy certificate. The Humphry Davy Medal or Certificate is awarded by the Council of the RCoA to an individual or organisation that has given outstanding service to anaesthesia, critical care or pain management.
The e-LfH programme has been the winner of several industry awards. Sir Peter Simpson, past President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the European Society of Anaesthesiology, said of the e-LA project, “It is hard to imagine an initiative which will have greater capacity to deliver education in anaesthesia critical care and pain management, or to improve the quality and safety of patient care, than the NHS e-Learning Anaesthesia project.”
For more information on e-LA visit www.e-LA.org.uk
e-VTE, the e-learning programme for venous thromboembolism (VTE), was officially launched on Thursday 26 June at a special VTE leadership summit.
The summit was held by the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson and the All Party Parliamentary Thrombosis Group to raise awareness of the Department of Health’s prevention strategy for VTE.
Health Minister, Ann Keen, the All Party Chair, Dr Richard Taylor MP, and NHS Medical Director, Sir Bruce Keogh were among the speakers at the event.
Available free to all clinicians e-VTE has been designed to support the national VTE prevention strategy and aims to improve understanding of VTE within the clinical community in both the hospital setting and in primary care. The e-learning will help clinicians to take appropriate action in assessing the risk of VTE for an individual and advising appropriate preventative measures.
Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson said: 'The dangers of venous thromboembolism in hospitalised patients have long been recognised. By working with NHS organisations, clinicians and managers and with the medical Royal Colleges we can ensure that all NHS staff and students recognise the dangers of VTE in hospitalised patients.
'By following standardised national preventive strategy that assesses the risk of VTE and by taking the right preventative measures, there is the potential to save thousands of lives each year.'
e-VTE has been developed by the Chief Medical Officer’s VTE Implementation Working Group (IWG) in partnership with Department of Health’s e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH).
The highly interactive e-learning consists of a pre-learning questionnaire and a post learning assessment together with four sessions of e-learning:
To access e-VTE visit www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Healthprotection/Bloodsafety/VenousThromboembolismVTE/index.htm
For more information on e-VTE visit www.e-lfh.org.uk/vte
The Department of Health’s (DH) Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Sue Hill, visited staff taking part in an audiology e-learning (e-Audiology) pilot at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital on Friday 29 May 2009. Professor Hill spent the morning talking with staff and seeing how they are using the e-learning as part of her work leading the national audiology programme.
e-Audiology gives assistant audiologists the knowledge to provide essential care for their patients. It is delivered in partnership by the DH and e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) to support the national audiology programme. The programme aims to provide patients with better care, improved access and reduced waiting times.
Heartlands Hospital is one of only two hospitals involved in the initial pilot for the project, which will help improve services for people with hearing difficulties across the country. Since March, assistant audiologists in the department have been using the online sessions to help develop their knowledge. Feedback from staff in Heartlands about the e-learning will play a crucial part in preparing e-Audiology to be launched nationally later this year.
Across the UK considerable numbers of adults and children live with hearing problems, many of whom need hearing aids. Assistant audiologists care for people with hearing problems. They support people in the rehabilitation and management of their problem; this can include offering advice, helping test patients’ hearing and maintaining their hearing aids.
An e-learning project for the 18 Week Patient Pathway is now available following a collaboration between the Department of Health 18 Week Workforce, the South West Strategic Health Authority and e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH).
The 18 week Patient Pathway is about improving patients' experience of the NHS - ensuring all patients receive high quality elective care without any unnecessary delay.
18 weeks applies to the maximum time from the point of initial referral to the start of any treatment necessary for all patients where it is clinically appropriate and where patients want it.
The new e-learning resource delivers the basic knowledge and understanding for the 18 Week Patient Pathway to a variety of staff, including booking clerks, clinical coders, clinicians and commissioners, working across a wide range of organisations.
Available at http://reception.e-lfh.org.uk/18wk the e-learning consists of two sessions. The first session (PART I) looks specifically at the background to the pathway and when the 18 week clock is started. The second session (PART II) covers when the clock is stopped, followed by a detailed assessment covering both PARTS I & II. Each session should not take more than 20 minutes to complete.
At the end of the assessment sessions, PART III, users can enter their name, profession and regional location in order to print a Completion Certificate. Please note that in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1988 names are not stored on the database and test scores are anonymised for the purpose of statistical analysis.
Users can also rate the 18 week e-learning programme and submit any comments on their learning experience. All feedback is useful for the ongoing development of future e-learning courses.
To access the programme visit: http://reception.e-lfh.org.uk/18wk
For more information on the 18 Week Patient Pathway visit:
http://e-lfh.org.uk/projects/18_week_pathway.
e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) has unveiled a new website that offers visitors a more engaging look and feel, improved content and enhanced navigation.
e-LfH is a partnership between the Department of Health, the NHS and professional bodies, providing high quality e-learning content for the training of the healthcare workforce across the UK.
Formed in 2007 following the successful implementation of an e-learning initiative in Radiology, known as R-ITI (Radiology - Integrated Training Initiative), e-LfH is now on course to deliver over 30 e-learning projects across a wide range of medical specialties.
The new website, www.e-lfh.org.uk, has undergone a significant transformation with a new home page, enriched content, improved navigation and enhanced information areas for the e-learning projects. Users can register for access to their e-learning by simply completing the registration form available in each project area.
Dr Julia Moore OBE, National Director of e-LfH said: "Since e-LfH was formed two years ago the programme has evolved significantly and is now leading the way in revolutionising medical education for today's healthcare profession. It is therefore only right that we support our ground breaking journey with a new eye-catching and engaging website".
The website has been designed and created by the e-LfH programme.
For more information contact Ruth Lawson, Communications Lead, e-LfH at ruth.lawson@e-lfh.org.uk.
The Department of Health’s e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) is delighted to have received the Silver Award for Innovation in Training Services at the IT Training Awards 2009.
The judges' citation reads: "The sheer size and scope of the programme - over 600 hours of learning built by an internal development team - was impressive. A sound blended learning approach was adopted and the programme has been recognised as an exemplar by the NHS which is now extending the approach to other clinical subjects.
“The way in which learning has been made available in the workplace for radiologists was a particular merit of the entrant."
For more information visit www.ittrainingawards.co.uk.
The Department of Health's e-Learning for Healthcare is proud to have won the 2008 award for e-Government excellence in Learning and Skills. Announced at an award ceremony addressed by PM Gordon Brown, e-LfH is honoured to be given the UK's highest commendation as one of the best e-Government and technology-driven services - 'services which, through innovative online delivery or IT implementation, have positively transformed the lives of citizens, local communities, business and stakeholder groups'. There were 588 entries for the awards, and finalists in this category included the British Council, DWP's learning modernisation programme and the Open University. Winners were described as 'the best of the best'.
Dr Julia Moore OBE, National Director for e-Learning for Healthcare, said: "We are delighted with this award and hope that this wider exposure will help to promote the importance of the e-learning agenda, and its potential to revolutionise workforce development, postgraduate training, education and continuing professional and personal development for all healthcare professionals."
A case study of our work will be posted on the Government Chief Information Officer's website, and a parallel European website, and showcased in the forthcoming Transformational Government Annual Report.
Further details about these awards can be found at:
www.e-governmentawards.co.uk/
Some users are experiencing problems with the tracking and recording of learning activity, caused by a global technical update to Java. This issue can be easily resolved by following a few simple steps to tweak your computer's version of Java Virtual Machine - please follow the steps outlined in this document, if you experience difficulty or any further problems please contact: support@e-lfh.org.uk - we apologise for any inconvenience caused.
We are delighted to confirm the release of the eMBUR (Making the best use of clinical radiology services) Referral Guidelines, Sixth Edition 2007. This content is now freely available throughout all locations situated within the NHS (N3) network. The guidelines are already available online to users in Scotland and Wales with the final arrangements for Northern Ireland currently in hand; a date for availability will be confirmed as soon as possible.
In order to access this content you will need to be part of the NHS (N3) network, simply type the following address into your web browser address window - mbur.nhs.uk (please note, there is no www prefix to this address).
In the unlikely event of any errors or if you have any questions regarding access to the Guidelines, please email e-Learning for Healthcare.
If you require further information about the Guidelines please refer to the Royal College of Radiologist's website: http://www.rcr.ac.uk/content.aspx?PageID=995
13.11.2009 - e-Learning for Healthcare Wins Gold Again!
06.11.2009 - Self Care Awareness Week
19.10.2009 - Dentistry gets into e-learning
15.10.2009 - Foundation e-learning goes live
07.10.2009 - Emergency Medicine e-learning is launched
06.08.2009 - Safeguarding Children and Young People
New e-learning is launched...
21.07.2009 - Electrify your learning with e-GP
15.07.2009 - e-Learning Anaesthesia (e-LA) formal launch
01.07.2009 - e-VTE goes live at the CMO leadership summit
29.05.2009 - Top healthcare scientist visits e-Audiology pilot site
06.03.2009 - e-Learning for the 18 Week Patient Pathway is now available
27.02.2009 - New look website unveiled
09.02.2009 - e-LfH receives IT Training Award
25.01.2009 - e-LfH wins prestigious e-Gov award
15.12.2008 - LMS Tracking Issue caused by Java Virtual Machine update
27.11.2008 - MBUR 6 online - Accessing & Supporting the eMBUR Guidelines
